Chronicles of Palace
by tohsaka fate
Summary: AU. On Palace, where your genes determine your status, where the Map is the driving force of everything on the planet, Vi-Kata, the deadliest assassin in the Pinch is back. His motives may be tied to the mysterious Candle burning through the Map. Kim, heir to Freelance, and her bodyguard, Sheridan must get to the bottom of this before everything goes down to hell. Eventual KiGo.
1. Arc 1 Chapter 1

CHRONICLES OF PALACE

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN KIM POSSIBLE OR PALACE. THEY BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE CREATORS. SO THERE'S NO NEED TO SUE ME.

ARC 1

CHAPTER 1

It was just another normal day at the Freelance guild for an apprentice like the young redhead. She walked into the vast hall of the guild, and was amazed by the sheer view of the majestic hall. Great arches stretched over the dome of the hall, with grand chandeliers shipped from Tableau hanging from the structures. Solid metal columns surrounded the hall, giving off faint bluish light. Holograms of plants were set out, a clear indication of the endangered biodiversity here on Palace. Vidscreens hung off the white marble walls, a few were tuned to the Pansect Media news channel, others on the daily poll of the Government House, a few on interplanetary news while most focused on the guild's latest assignments and changes in ranking after a rank contest.

The guild hall was full with masters, journeymen and apprentices like herself. But one can always tell from the guild uniforms they were wearing. Apprentices like herself wore simple blue smocks, and had no medals on their uniforms to show off their achievements in the field. The journeymen wore dark blue uniforms, and had golden trimming on the cuffs of their sleeves. The masters wore more elaborated clothes. Instead of the jumpsuit uniforms, they had much more elaborated robes when they were not out on field duty. And golden medals were pinned to the breasts of their uniforms.

But Kim's eyes weren't on them. She was looking around for the other sapients. Hirrels, Leps, and even Garang Japat were among members of the guild, and that was Kim loved the most. Unlike the rest of the guilds on Palace, Freelance opened its doors to anyone who wanted to join and put in some effort to make Pinch a better place to live in. The other guilds on Palace were open to children of their own clans, or relatives. The Leps were even worse. After the Lep invasion on Palace fourteen years ago, Government House had forbid Leps from joining most guilds, and were fenced in Finance Sect, until Elizabeth Director came along and founded the guild.

"Agent Possible, my office, now!" Director said to her as she passed the young redhead in the hall. She didn't even bat her single eyebrow, and just continued with the conversation she was having with her factor before speaking to Kim.

"Yes, ma'am," Kim replied, and sighed. 'Such luck, to get called this early in the morning…'

Dr. Director was a formidable woman, to say the least. An average height brunette, one eyed, the other was lost in the Lep invasion fourteen years ago. Ever since the first step, the woman had faced obstacles from all sides, especially from Karlo Peronida, the First Citizen of Palace, and his wife, Vanna Makessa. They didn't want another militant force on the planet, and Karlo himself preferred his Kephalon fleet more than anything. Vanna was always on the line of thought that Betty would one day overthrow them, and even put them into exile.

Kim followed the director to the elevator, and stepped in, nodding at the director's factor, a dark skinned man who went by the name William Eli Du. He had black hair, and dark eyes. His body was toned from all the field duties that he had went to over the years. Despite being a factor now, the director still sent the man out to field duty whenever she could.

Will pressed a button, and the elevator began to rise smoothly without a sound. The man made his way to the director's side, scribbling something on his tablet, and listened to something on his earbud when the comm unit chirped.

"Kimberly," Betty said after clearing her throat. "Do you know why are you in my presence this early in the morning?"

"No, ma'am," she answered truthfully, and swallowed nervously. Not many people could make her nervous, and the director was one of those people.

She turned to face Kim, who was staring straight back at her, trying her best not to fidget. The brunette let out a low chuckle, and turned her lone eye back to the doors of the elevator.

"You've grown, Kimberly," she remarked. "Four eyes ago, when you first joined Freelance, you were so rebellious. I remember that Will had to literally put you on a leash whenever he had to lead you on a mission. Your current supervisor, Maryvessa, complained to me about the same thing," Kim swallowed dryly, finding the floor much more interesting to look at.

"Look at me, Kim," the brunette said, and the redhead lifted her head, olive green eyes staring into the single onyx one of the director's. "But, behind that rebellious nature, you have a rational and quick mind. Compared to most masters in the guild, your achievement on the field should be sung more than theirs. However, in order to create this guild, there are some rules that we have to abide by, and sadly, this is one of them."

The elevator came to a smooth stop, and a ding sound was heard as the door slid open. Kim continued to follow the director, but her eyes were counting the number of tiles she had stepped on instead of the front. Will had a hasty excuse, and turned left at a junction to head to his office. Betty led the young redhead down a few corridors, and stopped in front of a door. She raised her palm, pressing it against the panel. The system whined, and the doors opened.

Cool air caressed the redhead's face when she stepped into the office, and the doors slid to a close behind her soundlessly. Betty moved to the kitchenette, pouring herself some coffee, and Kim took the moment to admire the majestic office.

The office was spacious, and at the end, sat a hardwood table imported from Souk. The desk was topped with data cubes and data strips that reported any crisis and missions that her agents were sent to. Most were cases that she had yet to distribute to the masters, and some were work assigned by other guilds, including Government House. As much as Karlo hated them, he still needed them to make sure that Palace was safe. At least the man was smart, and knew that his Kephalon fleet would not be enough.

A data chair stood behind the lush desk, completed with a few input jacks for the director to get onto the Map and check out the Map status, as well as get in touch with her agents who were off planet via the Hypermap. A few vidscreens hovered over the table, updating on the current mission status of the guild's agents, as well as the poll on Palace. Kim could see one that was broadcasting news from Pansect, but the sound was muted.

A set of sofa sat to one side of the office, with a small tea table in the middle. They were imported from Souk as well, just like the soft carpet underneath her feet. A mapstation was in a corner, but Kim knew the director never used it, and instead programmed a hologram to cover its presence in the room.

"Sit," Betty ushered, taking the armchair and Kim plopped down onto the loveseat. The director set down a mug of coffee in front of Kim, and took a small sip of her own. "As I was saying, there are some rules that Freelance has to abide by, but we can always try to find ways to bypass them."

"Ma,am, why are you telling me this?" Kim queried, clearly puzzled. "Aren't you supposed to discuss this with your masters, instead of me? I mean no offence, I'm honoured that you will speak to me about these matters, but what do I have to do with any of these?"

Betty let out a soft sigh, and put down her mug, staring into those young, vibrant olive eyes. "Kimberly, I've run Freelance for fourteen years, and you are one of the few people who were there with me when I started the guild, even if you were just a child back then. I've seen the guild rise and fall, but not any of our agents retiring, yet. But, I want to see change as well, and only you can bring it to the guild."

"Me?" Kim nearly squeaked.

The director nodded. "I'm making you my heir," she stated as a matter of factly and the redhead swore the world around her was just turned upside down.

"You can't seriously mean that, director!" Kim said, and began to clasp and unclasp her hands. "I'm just an apprentice, what would people say if I take over your position in the future? Besides, I'm no member of the Director clan. If anyone, your brother should be the one taking over the guild, and not me."

Betty closed her eyes, and sighed deeply before opening her eye once more. "Kimberly, please, you're the only one who's right for the position. As what the Peronida has told me, or rather, by the law passed by the Council here on Palace, the position of the guild master of every guild must be passed to members of the clan. But I am not married, and have no child to take over my position. My brother, Sheldon, prefers to stay on that icy planet, Tableau, to do whatever planet domination plan that he's brewing up in that mind of his. Surely you can't ask me to hand over the position to a man like him. Sheldon is bound to just use the manpower and overthrow the Peronidas," she paused, taking another sip at her coffee. "That leaves the one other option which is open to us. Handing the guild master position to someone else in the guild with a master position, and has proved he or herself worthy of the position."

She held up a hand when she saw Kim was about to say something, and smiled at the redhead. "I know what you're going to say next, and I must say, that argument isn't going to work in the way you'd want. I've spoken to the masters in the guild, as well as guild masters from various other guilds such as Power, Import, Tech, Media and even Cyberguild. The missions you've been doing, as well as good words from most of our masters, has enabled you to be promoted to a journeyman. However, that's not enough," the brunette told her, and leaned forward. "Kimberly, you need to become a master in order to take over my position. That's another rule that I can't bend to my will. But a perfect chance has come up recently. I need you to take a team, and capture the Outcast. Even better, stop this UJU racist nonsense. It's past time the people of Palace let go of their hatred for the Lep race."

"A crime done by a few, but all the nine million Leps on Palace was blamed for the Kephalon plague," Kim whispered, remembering that day well, even though she was just a child back then.

"The First Citizen would never forget that day, when he saw billions on Kephalon died due to the plague. In fact, that biological warfare was never supposed to be used. The militants on Ri were foolish. It was a miracle that Karlo didn't just blow Ri off the map of Pinch, and another miracle that he brought his orphans in our direction to help us put an end to the war. With the Nimue AI down at that time, Palace was vulnerable."

"Orphan?" Kim echoed, blinking.

"Yeah, to put it in a bad way. They were orphans of war, and the surviving men and women on Kephalon are all on Karlo's fleet, commandeering the Military Guild. And things would get even worse if he makes the office of the First Citizen hereditary. If Wanito Peronida becomes the next ruling First Citizen, the first thing that he would do is to point his Kephalon canons at Ri, followed by the other lesser species here on Pinch, such as the Hirrels and Garang Japats."

"No, he can't, he wouldn't…" Kim started, shocked. "They are a dying race. If he really does that, then there would only be saccules and humans in Pinch."

"That's exactly what he might do," Betty said sadly. "Rumours are going around, saying that Wan has a mean streak in him, more than his own mother, Vanna. Vanna is a woman who can hold her grudge, and so does Wan. Have you ever seen the man's face after he's back from a hunt? He's a monster, Kimberly. Are you willing to let such a man rule Palace without someone to keep him in check?"

"I… I don't understand. What does keeping Wanito Peronida in check has to do with me?" Kim asked again, unable to understand the situation with her befuddled mind. "I'm a complete nobody in his eyes."

Betty smiled, and leaned back into her seat. "That's exactly what makes you a dangerous woman to him. You are a teen, someone who has just achieved her Not-Child status. What reason could he actually have, or Vanna, to actually suspect that you might be out to oppose him? I'll be frank, Kimberly, I have high hopes for you, and I do hope that you will agree to become my protégé. You're the only one I trust to accomplish all these impossibilities."

"Anything's possible for a Possible," the teen mumbled under her breath, not expecting the director to hear that. She had never hated the family motto, not until now that she realised that the motto had brought more troubles for her today than any other days before.

"I'll accept," the redhead finally gave in.

Betty beamed, and stood up. "Great, I was hoping that you would say that. Though from your expression, you seem to understand that the conclusion of this conversation has been set even before we started," she took a data cube from her desk, and handed it to Kim. "I'll have Will arrange your instalment on the Ten Gust, here at guild headquarters. He will also get your measurements for your new guild uniforms, as well as get you a new cubicle for you to work in."

Kim nodded absently, staring at the cube in hand. "That's just a week away. You're not giving me much choice, do you?" she asked, looking up at the single-eyed woman.

"I'm afraid no," Betty replied. "I need to get things running. And speaking of a new cubicle, I want you down at Cyberguild tomorrow. Guild master Jons will supervise over your second jack implant. Then, report to the Cyberguild medical team on Six Gust, and go through your cyberdrug trial. You need to be able to handle the drugs if you are to be my heir."

Kim's eyes nearly popped out. "Second implant? This soon? And cyberdrug? Didn't the genius at Cyberguild fell for it, and is now a drug addict wandering the streets in Pleasure Sect?"

"Arno you mean?" Betty answered, taking her seat opposite the redhead once more. "It's a pity to Cyberguild, especially to master Jons. Arno has always been a bright child, throwing a lot of shadow for other apprentices to stand in, especially his younger cousin, Rico. That boy has potential, and might turn out to be better than Arno. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he names Rico as his heir. The boy is a member of the Jons clan after all. But back to our topic."

"Ma'am?" Kim queried, blinking once more.

"Kimberly, becoming a guild master means carrying the entire guild on your shoulders. And more so if you become a guild master in this guild. We are Freelance, not tied to any other guilds, or even the Government House. We are responsible for all life, on Palace, as well as those in the Pinch. Therefore, your current supervisor, Maryvessa will be unable to guide you in this aspect. I will personally oversee your achievements in the guild from now onwards."

Kim's mouth opened, and stayed like that for a few seconds before the redhead closed it, then opened it to try and get a few coherent words out, and failed. For Kim, too much had changed in such a short time, and her brain was still trying to absorb and accept everything. First, she was requested to become Betty's heir, then she was asked to bring in the Outcast, and stop the UJU organisation. And finally, a change in her supervisor, where she would be directly supervised by the current guild master herself.

Just when the redhead thought that things couldn't be more dramatic than it already was, Betty dropped the final bomb on the olive-eyed teen.

"Oh, and Kimberly, I'm assigning Sheridan Go as your new partner."

kpkpkpkpkp

Yes, yes, I know I should be working on my other stories, but I've had this idea bouncing around in my brain for some time, and like other stories, I want to see how this would turn out. So, something brief on this new story. Actually, this is an AU of Kim Possible, set in the world of Palace, a novel I love. It's set in a galaxy called the Pinch, and the main planet will be Palace. Various guilds, each specialised in different areas, form a connection and serve to support the Government House and keep the Palace up and running. Each planet has several AI, and the Nimue AI is a defence AI on Palace. Furthermore, I'm sure that you've noticed that not only humans were mentioned in this chapter, but other species such as Hirrel, Lep and Garang Japat are mentioned. Don't fret, they will be explained in due time. And, contrary to the original novel, where the superiors or authorities are called as 'Se', I decided to stick to our titles, and the names follow our naming system instead of the book, which includes the mother's family name. For example, the name Vida L'Var y Smid, L'Var is the father's family name while Smid is the mother's family name.

Another note, I wouldn't be doing any other updates for another month, starting from now, as finals are only a week and a half away, and I have to focus on my exams if I want to get a decent course in college. Hence, I wish you all an early Happy Halloween, and save some candies for me.

And please, reviews are very much appreciated.


	2. Arc 1 Chapter 2

CHRONICLES OF PALACE

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NEITHER PALACE NOR KIM POSSIBLE. THIS IS JUST FOR FUN, SO DON'T SUE ME.

ARC 1

CHAPTER 2

A/N Ok, I should be studying. I have no idea why I'm typing this out instead. But I think I can cut myself some slack as I've done revising for finals, which is stretching for a whole three weeks. To say the truth, I can't wait for the holidays to come. Anyway, I changed the ratings because of some implicit sexual themes will be out in the light from now on. Hope you all enjoy this chapter, from Shego's viewpoint.

She stood where she liked standing, alone on the edge of the crowd and watching, above the crowd too, on a ramp halfway up and curling around the dome of the Spaceport Terminal. Checking tickets, carrying luggage, herding children, sapients rushed past in all directions, but no-one more than glanced her way. She was hidden in plain sight by her clothes, and despite her pale green skin, the clothes were enough to let her blend in with the various species rushing about in the terminal. Her clothes were finely tailored, but they were utterly undistinguished suit of a factor. Pale green shirt and black slacks. She was practically fuming over the lost of her favourite green and black jump suit on this particular mission, but she had more pressing matters to attend to. She was keeping her eyes on a Lep, who was cleverly disguised as a merchant for Import Guild, but she knew better.

His clothes, consisting of a pale soft shirt, grey short tunic, and a slashed kilt of the same grey. No doubt, a Lep such as himself was hating the garments more than anything, having the thought that human trousers were graceless wear for a sub ugly species, and did him no good when he had a tail. This Lep, a dangerous existence, harboured great hatred for humanity, and given the chance, he would spit on every last human he could find. In one hand, the Lep held a sample case, splashed with colours and the name of an importing film. Judging from the look of the case, she knew that inside the case were jewelleries, providing the Lep with both a cover story and money while he got his real job done here on Palace.

She had no intention to learn his true motives. To the pale skinned teen, all she had to do was to bring the Lep in and put an end to the tale of the most dangerous assassin in the Pinch. But she knew not to be deceived by looks as well. The Lep may seemed incapable of any physical exertion with the way he was standing, shoulders slumped, and bent over, but she had experienced first-hand that the claws and tail of the Lep were deadly, and ended up in the guild's medical bay for days, nursing her wounded pride besides her wounds.

She continued the watch on him as he leaned on the railing of the ramp not far away from her, and he was looking down at the swarming terminal, where sapients of half a dozen races milled around or squabbled over the scanty seating. She heard the crowd as a roar and babble, half a dozen languages mixed with the flat tones of Gen, the official trade-talk of that region of the galaxy known as the Pinch. Over it all a booming noise sounded, as if a thunderstorm was gathering under the forcedome far above the terminal. She could see the source of the boom from above, and knew her target had spotted them too: hundreds of saccules, the short and pouch native race on Palace, who were scurrying and dodging through the crowd. Dressed in simple shifts, as if they were children ready for bed, they carried refreshments, cleared paths for their human masters, while they boomed and squealed and did their best to mimic human speech with the throat sacs and ouches clustered clustering around their eating mouths. Their odour reached her and him as well, even up as high as they stood, and she noticed the Lep's crest lifted in disgust. The saccules gave off a smell-babble of scents that had earned them their nickname, Stinkers.

She saw the look of disgust that crossed the Lep's face, and a human who had moved behind the Lep, arm outstretched for the sample case. She began to move in their direction, but the Lep was faster. He grabbed the human by his arm, and flung the human over the rails, watching with a smug grin on his scaly face, and a gentle rustle of his crest. The human's face was frozen in shock, and a shrilling scream was torn from his mouth as he fell over the edge.

The human landed with a bone crunching sound, and all at once, the Spaceport became quit, all eyes staring at the dead body laid spread eagle with the limbs twisted at irregular angles, blood pooling around him. His eyes were wide in surprise, and his mouth gaping open. Then, the crowd began to shout, and ran for the exits. Security guards moved in to calm them down, but the crowd was set on leaving the scene as fast as possible., cordoning the guards away from the corpse. The saccules let out a smell like vomit from their pouches, stinking the air up even more. Shrill sirens broke through the screams, and orders were barked over megaphones, but no one was listening.

"The Outcast is on planet!" she barked into her comm unit, and ran for the Lep. "All unit, converge on Spaceport Terminal exit!"

The Lep heard her behind him, and turned with a swish of his tail, but she jumped over it, clearly anticipated his move. She lunged at him, but he dodged, and raised his voice over the screams.

"The murderer!" he yelled in Gen. "That way!"

And he ran, with several humans running behind him, chasing after their imaginary murderer. She cursed, losing the Lep in the midst of the swarming humans. She reached for her comm unit.

"He's headed for the exits, take him down!" she yelled, and pushed her way through the crowd, headed for exits. "I want him in, alive!"

She switched the bothersome piece of device off and took a mad dash after the Lep. She jumped over the rails, landing in a crouch among the wailing humans, and rushed towards the exit. The Lep turned to look at what was the commotion about, and raised his crest in amusement when he saw the pale green woman chasing him.

"My, my Sheridan, is my charm rubbing on you?" he said in Lepir, but she understood the words perfectly. "Haven't gotten enough of me yet, have you?"

Sheridan snarled, and lit both of her hands up. Green plasma with black swirling in them covered both of her hands, their intense heat rolling through the room, and the sapients ran for cover. Sheridan threw two spheres of the intense orbs at the Outcast, but the Lep flung his sample case aside, and crouched down, the orbs sailing past his head, hitting two vidscreens behind him, blowing them into smithereens.

"You fucking Lep, how did you get back here?" she all but snarled at the scaly reptile.

But the Lep didn't answer her. He turned his head, looking at the gates that led to outside the terminal. Up close, he could see that every exit stood guarded not just one gate, but a series of long tunnel of autogates stretching toward the grey light of outside and safety. Behind him, Sheridan came to a stop as well, standing out of the range of his tail, but within range of her plasma. She lit both hands up once more, and the Outcast took one glance at the plasma covered hands, and bolted through the gates.

Sheridan was shocked, her mind racing through the facts that had been drilled into her mind. The Outcast was under sentence of death on more than one world, and the police of all those worlds had encoded his DNA signature into their security systems. But now, he was clearing all the gates, and she watched in muted shock as he passed the eighth gate, ninth, and tenth. The door ahead of him opened with a hiss of air, and closed when he dashed through.

With an angry growl, she raced after the Lep, and by the time she reached outside, the Lep was nowhere to be seen. She cursed herself for her incompetence. The Outcast had dared to return to Palace, of course he would have a way to bypass the security system. Hell, by now, she would even believe that the Lep had ways to bypass Caliostro and Nimue.

Sheridan fished out her comm unit. "Lost him, cyclops."

"At least we've confirmed that he's here on Palace. Return to guild headquarters now. I have more pressing issues to discuss with you," came the director's voice. "And judging from my past conversations with you, you're not going to like it."

Sheridan growled, not bothering to answer and turned the bothersome unit off. She walked down the corner, the grey sky of Palace over her head, and headed towards a row of sleek robocabs and a queue of passengers waiting for their turn. But she was in no mood to wait. Flashing her badge at the humans and Hirrels, she boarded the first robocab in line and sank into the soft cushions of the back seat.

"Rimaria district, Military Sect," she said. "Freelance Guild headquarters."

"Authorization for entering Military Sect." came the dull voice of the AI.

Sheridan frowned, and growling, pressed her right thumb over the ID plate. The machinery whined once, and the cab roared to life. Unbeknownst to her, her target was in the robocab just in front of her, and veered off towards Pleasure Sect when they reached the junction.

kpkpkpkpkp

Sheridan threw herself onto the divan in her small office, and pulled a small cushion to her face, stifling the screams of frustration that she was letting out after yet another failed attempt at capturing the Outcast. It was the sixth time she had let that Lep got away. The first few times were on Tableau, Souk and Ri, and now, Palace.

Then it hit her. She sat up straight, pushing loose strands of her raven hair away from her face. Palace had the best security systems in the Pinch, and yet the Outcast had managed to get onto the planet with a forged ticket and identity, and walked, raced through the autogates as if they none existing. That was what baffled her, and resulted in losing him in Palace.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Betty asked from the door, earning a growl from the green skinned woman. "You do know that I wouldn't blame you for letting the Outcast get away, don't you? I've been tipped that Riva is the one who made a contract with him this time."

"Riva? Then shouldn't you talk to Master Jons instead of me? Riva is Jons' old time rival. I bet he would love to know that rogue cybermaster is employing the best assassin in the Pinch to carry out her dirty work. Who is she after this time?"

Betty took a seat on one of the chairs. "That's the most bizarre part. I can understand why she wants to put Arno out of the game, the boy's too smart for his own good. But the other target, and Un-Marked girl named Vida, that's what got me wondering the whole day. Why employ the best assassin to kill a genetic cull in the eyes of Palace citizens? To those people out there, the people in Pleasure Sect are mere tools, genetic trash. But, Riva has taken an interest in this girl."

Sheridan rolled her eyes. "Simple, ain't it? The girl has something that old Riva actually fears. I don't know what it is, but one thing's for sure, that girl is no simple genetic cull, as what you called her. Living for this long has taught me that the world is not as we see it. For someone older than me, shouldn't you understand that better than me?"

The director frowned. She didn't like it whenever the green woman brought up their ages. She was nearing a century, with wisps of grey in her dark hair, whereas the younger woman was barely fifty, young in the eyes of most Palace citizens. That was what the life extension treatment was all about. Humans on Palace normally live up to around a hundred and fifty years, some even more from the treatment, though a few were immune to the treatment, such as Karlo Peronida, the current First Citizen of Palace.

"Don't remind me of my age, Sheridan," Betty waved it off dismissively, but Sheridan merely smirked, waiting for the one-eyed director to get to the point. "The girl, that's where you and your new partner will come in. Or rather, your new student."

Sheridan's emerald eyes widened in shock, and she shot up from her seat, glaring down at her old time friend. "Cyclops, you are not doing this to me!" she nearly yelled at the woman. "You know I'm not a team player, so why are you trying to force me back into this gig?!"

"Because she is special," Betty replied in a smooth tone, meeting Sheridan's angry gaze calmly. "As I've mentioned earlier, I received tips off planet, that the Outcast is on the move. I want her to take Vida's place, and I want you to be her bodyguard."

"You have got to be fucking kidding me!" Sheridan sputtered, raising both hands up. "I'm not some cheap for hired bodyguards, like those Garangs the Peronida has trailing behind him. I'm a master in this guild!"

Betty stood up. "I know, and I know you're the only one I can actually trust with this mission. You're my friend, a friend who saved me from those monsters on Ri."

"Don't pull this friend bullshit on me now," she yelled, green flames bursting from her hands. "That's why I was so hesitant in saving you. And, on a side note, I joined this guild for the adrenaline ride, not becoming a babysitter!"

Sheridan turned and headed for the exit, but Betty's next words froze her.

"So, you're just going to let Kimberly do all that on her own, without backup? Kata was able to hurt **_even_** you, Sheridan, are you going to let her face him?" Betty took a step towards her furious friend. "You know deep inside your heart, you care for the redhead. Wasn't that the reason you saved her on Tableau?"

Sheridan turned slowly. "You're putting Princess on this? Are you insane? You'll get her killed!"

"I don't have a choice, Sheridan," Betty said, sighing in resignation. "I need someone to take over the guild. I can't keep doing this for another fifty years. The guild needs new blood, and only by making her the guild master can we achieve that. Besides, we both know that you have what it takes to step into my shoes, but won't."

Sheridan wheeled to face her, face contorted in disgust. "She's barely a Not-Child, cyclops. You will not endanger all her one hundred and fifty years ahead of her."

"Then help her," Betty said to her face. "You're the only one qualified for this. No other agents in the guild can actually be on par with her, let alone understand how crazy she can be sometimes."

"Tell me, then, what's all this about?" Sheridan queried, sitting down once more. "At least let me know what is going on, aside from having Princess taking that whore's place, and me becoming the bodyguard."

Betty sat down as well. "Please, she's not a whore. She's never Marked," she began, but Sheridan merely scoffed. "First, we will need to find a way to get Vida out of Pleasure Sect. I will put in a word with Cardinal Roha, and try to persuade Karlo to take the child in, perhaps even as a lawdaugter."

Sheridan laughed. "Bets, are you serious? Karlo's wife will kill the poor thing with her eyes alone. You know full well how Vanna will take all this, yet you want to ship that girl to Government House? So that Vanna has a new toy to torment?"

"Yes, I know that, but I believe Cardinal Roha will be able to bring up some good reasons for Karlo to take the child in. Setting all these aside, as I've mentioned, Kimberly will take Vida's place at The Close, with you as her bodyguard. Of course both of you will have to pretend to be someone from Pleasure."

"You want **_me_** to pretend to be a prostitute?!" Sheridan nearly screamed.

Betty narrowed her eyes. "If you have any other suggestions, feel free to tell me about them. Moving on, Kimberly is currently putting together a team to help her from behind the scenes. You will remain in sight all the time as you are her bodyguard, so Kimberly will need someone else who is able to leave the establishment and Sect to keep in touch with what's going on outside so they can formulate a plan."

"I've given up trying to make my point known," the pale woman replied, waving dismissively. "All that I'm interested to know is this, who will be on this team that pumpkin is putting together? Since I'm gonna be her bodyguard, whether I like it or not, I might as well get to know whether they will be trustworthy or not."

The director nodded. "Point taken, Sheridan. Kim has currently brought Ronald Stoppable from Yamanouchi planet and his fiancée, Yori to help her on stealth missions, as well as provide extra protection from the shadows. Wade Load, a prodigy in our RD department to provide gadgets and com agent. Monique Robinson, an agent I've placed in Pleasure for years to look into the drug traffic will be teaching her all that Kimberly will need to know to survive in Pleasure."

"Wait up," Sheridan put up a hand to stop Betty. "Why does Princess needs to know all that? Taking that girl's place is one thing, but she's not going to be a prostitute, whether you like it or not."

"Yes, yes," Betty concurred. "Have no fears about that. I will put in a word with Aleen about this, and make sure that Kimberly will only be her ward, nothing more than that. We only need Kimberly to divert Kata's attention, and not becoming a full-fledged member in Pleasure Sect."

Sheridan resisted the urge to roll her eyes, and smirked. "So, about my raise…"

Betty groaned.


End file.
